Watch Courtney Barnett’s MTV Unplugged Cover Of Leonard Cohen’s “So Long, Marianne”
In October, Australian guitar hero Courtney Barnett taped an MTV Unplugged special in Melbourne for the Aussie version of MTV. Today, she’s released the live version of that EP, which is just called MTV Unplugged. On the EP, Barnett duets with peers like Paul Kelly, Marlon Williams, and Evelyn Ida Morris, and she covers songs from Archie Roach and Seeker Lover Keeper. She also does versions of her own songs like “Depreston” and “Avant Gardener.” And to end it, she does a lovely take on the 1967 Leonard Cohen classic “So Long, Marianne.”
MTV has shared the video of Barnett doing “So Long, Marianne,” and it’s just awesome. Barnett does an expansive six-minute version of the song, fleshing it out with acoustic guitars and strings. And she seems to go into the zone while singing it, clamping her eyes shut and getting fully into it. She doesn’t fundamentally alter the song. Instead, she makes it her own simply by singing it like she means it. Check it out below.
Below, you can stream the full MTV Unplugged EP.
The MTV Unplugged EP is out now on Milk! Records. You can watch the full Unplugged special here.